Athabasca Oil Corp., Calgary, expects to receive approval to proceed with its Hangingstone Project 1 in situ oil sands development in the southern Athabasca region of Alberta (OGJ Online, Sept. 13, 2010).
The company said the Energy Resources Conservation Board has received authorization to approve the 12,000-b/d project less than 20 km southwest of Fort McMurray. It will use steam-assisted gravity drainage.
Third-party estimates put probable reserves in the project area at 100 million bbl of bitumen and contingent resources at an additional 900 million bbl.
The company said it plans next year to file applications for second and third phases of development with potential to bring the area’s production to more than 80,000 b/d.